by Eliza Raine
‘Please, Theseus. Please take me with you. I’ve improved so much since I started training with Psyche.’ She did her best pout and the corner of Theseus’s mouth quirked into a grin.
‘Hedone, after five years I think I’m fairly immune to that smile now,’ he said. He looked at Psyche. ‘Well? Do you think we should take her with us?’
Psyche stabbed her meat with a fork and looked at Hedone across the galley table. ‘It’s true she’s improved,’ she said and took a bite of the steak. ‘And she did do well on Capricorn, though that was mostly down to being a good swimmer.’ Hedone looked pleadingly at the older woman as she chewed. Psyche swallowed. ‘How about a test?’ Theseus raised an eyebrow.
‘What did you have in mind?’ he said.
‘A test of skill,’ she answered.
‘What sort of skill?’ Hedone asked, worry creeping into her voice. She’d face the test, of course, whatever it was, but what if she failed? She needed to see Hercules. She needed to be down on Taurus with him in the next Trial.
‘Just a test to see how much you’ve learned since we began.’ Psyche gave Hedone a smile, one of her real ones, and she relaxed slightly. ‘It’ll be fun.’
Hedone wolfed down the rest of her food, repeatedly asking Psyche to tell her what kind of test it would be, but the woman refused to budge, telling her nothing. Theseus seemed highly amused by the whole thing, and Bellerephon entirely uninterested, as usual. When they’d all finished eating Psyche told them to wait for her on the top deck.
‘So, why so keen to get involved all of a sudden?’ asked Theseus when they were alone. She looked sideways at him as they entered the hauler together.
‘Isn’t that why you brought me to the Trials?’ she asked.
Theseus shook his head. ‘No. I brought you because of the prize.’
Hedone frowned at him. ‘The prize? Immortality?’
Theseus nodded, leaning back casually against the hauler wall as they rose slowly.
‘I can’t think of many people I’d want to share an immortal life with,’ he said, gently. Hedone’s heart skipped a beat and for a moment she couldn’t breathe. Confusion gripped her and it must have shown on her face because Theseus stepped forward, looking concerned. ‘Hedone?’
She shook her head. ‘I’m sorry, I… I just didn’t realise that’s why I was here.’
‘You’re a good person, Hedone. And Olympus needs good people. Especially if they’re going to be immortal.’
Olympus needed her? Not Theseus? Emotions swam through her mind in a jumble. Hercules, she thought. She dragged his face to the forefront of her mind and concentrated. She was to live an immortal life with Hercules. That’s what this was about for her now. But Theseus… A tiny voice in the back of her mind persisted. Theseus just said he wants to share an immortal life with you.
‘Well, I’m glad you’re getting on with Psyche, anyway,’ he said, snapping her out of her spiralling thoughts. ‘And it certainly can’t hurt to learn some of her skills. I’ll admit it’s been harder than I thought it would be for you to stay out of the Trials.’
Hedone looked at him, not really hearing his words. ‘Right,’ she said as the hauler doors slid open. They stepped out onto the deck and made their way in silence to the mast at the prow of the ship, as instructed by Psyche. The Typhoon’s low square sails shimmered, reflecting the pink and orange clouds they were gliding past. They waited awkwardly for a few minutes, until Psyche strode towards them holding a bone spear painted with deep blue markings. She reached the mast, saying nothing, and leaned the spear against it as she pulled a small pot out of the pouch on her belt. She wasn’t wearing her golden armour, just black fighting leathers, but gold cord gleamed in her dark braids as she opened the pot and dipped her finger in. When she pulled it out it was bright red and she leaned over and drew a big cross on the centre of the thick mast, at a height level with her shoulder. She picked up the spear and took ten measured strides backwards. She positioned her arm, balancing the spear carefully, focusing on the cross on the mast, then threw. The spear pierced the centre of the cross and Psyche smiled at Hedone.
‘Your turn,’ she said. Hedone’s heart sank. She was getting better with a slingshot but the spears were heavy and she didn’t have the strength to lift them high or throw them far. Her aim wasn’t too bad over a small distance but unless she was supposed to hit the floor she didn’t think this would go well.
She walked unenthusiastically towards Psyche, who shook her head. ‘Go and get the spear first,’ she said.
Hedone sighed and changed direction. She struggled just to yank the spear out of the wood. Eventually she ripped it free and made her way to where Psyche was standing. The mast seemed very far away. She rolled her shoulders and tried to focus, remembering what Psyche had taught her about throwing on the exhale, looking to where you wanted the weapon to go and making sure you were using your leading eye. She hefted the bone spear, reluctant to lift it higher than her shoulder until she needed to, to save her muscles.
She shifted around until she felt like she had her stance correct, then drew her arm back. If she wanted to get the distance and the height she would need to get enough momentum. Enough strength.
Hercules was strong. She could draw from his strength. A memory of their hour together flashed through her mind. His strength mingling with hers, his power inside her, part of her. She drew her arm back a little further and threw. The spear sailed towards the mast and Hedone’s mouth dropped open as it hit the top right peak of the cross. She looked from Psyche to Theseus, disbelieving.
Theseus barked a laugh and applauded slowly and loudly.
‘Does that count?’ she asked quickly. Psyche shrugged.
‘It’s not the centre, but you hit the cross.’
‘So I can come? To Taurus?’ she asked Theseus.
‘I guess so.’ He smiled at her.
5
Eryx was excited about seeing Taurus. As a child he had been told stories about the woodland realm, about the dryads that could transform themselves into trees, the elemental nymphs that were water one minute and wind the next, the numerous races of satyrs and their mystical lord Pan. He leaned over the railing eagerly as they soared past swirling orange clouds, approaching land. He ignored the ache in his chest.
‘Dionysus is a tricky god,’ said Antaeus behind him, and Eryx jumped at his voice.
‘Captain,’ he said, turning to him. ‘How are you feeling?’
Antaeus grunted and Eryx instantly regretted asking. Busiris had confirmed that the giant was suffering from hypothermia when they got back to the Orion, and set about injecting warm salt water into his veins and covering him in heaps of blankets. Eryx had felt useless watching, waiting anxiously to see if Antaeus would regain consciousness. Busiris said that he must warm up slowly, or he would die anyway of shock, then disappeared into his rooms, refusing to talk about the Trial at all.
After a few hours, Antaeus did wake up. Eryx helped him swallow warm drink after warm drink and it wasn’t long before he was able to move around. When Eryx had offered to help him bathe, Antaeus had growled at him, instructing him to forget that he had ever seen him in such a sorry state. The two brothers, Albion and Bergion, had had the sense to stay out of the way.
Now Antaeus leaned on the rail beside Eryx, dwarfing him, and Eryx bit back an urge to tell him he should probably put a shirt on to keep warm.
‘You’ve never been to Taurus, have you?’ Antaeus asked.
Eryx stole a glance at the snake tattoo, relieved to see the serpents writhing around on his back again. They had been completely still when his crew had removed his sodden clothes.
‘No, Captain. I’ve always wanted to, though. I’ve heard they build their houses in the trees.’
Antaeus nodded. ‘They do. There are three kingdoms in Taurus, each run by a different king, and they are constantly conniving and plotting to expand their own lands.’ He snorted disdainfully. ‘Not my sort of place.’
E
ryx looked towards the dark patch of land, growing in the distance. ‘Sounds like Busiris would fit in,’ he said.
Antaeus laughed. ‘Good choice of words, Brother. Only you and Busiris would fit in anywhere, literally. Most Taurus natives are small; their buildings will not accommodate giants.’ He paused. ‘Are you ready for another Trial?’
Eryx grinned before he could stop himself.
‘I’m going with you?’
‘You are, Eryx.’
6
Lyssa breathed out, long and slow, as she gratefully sank her head beneath the warm water. They had got Tenebrae’s tank back to the cargo deck without incident, though the entire crew was giving it a wide berth. It had taken longer than she’d hoped it would to repair the hole that the Lady Lamia’s ship had blasted in the hull, and her body ached from pushing herself emotionally and physically for what seemed like forever. How long ago had the Trials started? And now all four crews had one win apiece.
She brought her head up out of the water, pushing her wet hair away from her face, then reached for the soap. Inhaling the rose scent deeply, she couldn’t help thinking of Phyleus. He’d bought the soap for the ship. He’d also lied about who he was. If he really was from Taurus, she should be talking to him right now. He might have information that could help them.
She knew why she was putting it off, though. She’d known he was more than the arrogant, whining boy she’d first seen standing behind Lady Lamia with a box of silver. He was fit and strong and smart and his self-belief went beyond aristocratic arrogance. He knew too much about Olympus, and while he moaned about the things they had done so far, she’d yet to see true fear in him.
The begrudging respect she was forming for him worried her. Whatever he would tell her now, learning who he had been before he joined the Alastor might shatter what she was starting to feel, ruin the trust she was building in him. She was worried that perhaps whatever he had to say would put a halt to the odd fluttery feeling in her stomach she was starting to get whenever his soft brown eyes met hers. She huffed and dunked her head back under the water, rubbing her hands through her hair to get the soap out. That fluttery feeling was annoyance, she chided herself.
‘Lyssa?’
The voice in her head startled her so much she almost swallowed her bath-water. She sat up with a splash, choking. She’d never heard Phyleus’s voice in her head before. The implications of that cut through her shock. The Alastor had accepted him.
‘Captain! I’ve told you a hundred times it’s Captain,’ she snapped back.
‘Even if nobody can hear us?’
‘Especially if nobody can hear us.’ There was a pause.
‘Well, this is fun.’ There was a hint of playfulness in his voice and even though Lyssa knew he couldn’t see her she was suddenly very aware of her nakedness in the tub. ‘I’ve never talked to somebody with my mind before.’
‘Yeah, well, don’t abuse it. What do you want?’
‘We need to finish the conversation we started. The one where I tell you who I am.’ She heard his tone change, not needing to see his facial expression to understand the seriousness.
‘You really do have a high opinion of yourself. Why do you think we’ll care?’ Lyssa stood up and stepped out of the copper tub, grabbing for a towel.
‘Trust me, I wouldn’t be telling you unless I had to. But I really do think you need to know. You and the rest of the crew.’
‘Fine, fine.’ She wrapped the towel around her hair and projected a message to the whole crew. ‘Everybody, galley in fifteen minutes.’
‘Thank you,’ Phyleus said softly in her head.
The galley looked significantly smaller with Nestor in it, Lyssa thought as they crowded around the long table.
‘Thank you all for coming,’ Phyleus said, wringing his hands and nodding at everybody. Lyssa groaned and brought her hands down flat on the table in front of her.
‘Get on with it, Phyleus,’ she said. He glared at her.
‘Fine. I’m a prince.’ He held her gaze as she felt her mouth fall open.
‘You are joking,’ she said as Len began to laugh beside her. Phyleus’s cheeks flushed and he stood straight.
‘It’s true. I’m the second son of King Augeas of Taurus.’
Lyssa’s heart hammered. Nobility was one thing, but royalty? She turned to the satyr.
‘Len, you’re from Taurus; wouldn’t you know if we had a Taurean prince on board?’ she demanded.
‘Captain, I left Taurus thirty years ago and haven’t been back. Phyleus hadn’t even been born then.’ Len looked Phyleus up and down appraisingly, still smiling. ‘He does have the look of King Augeas, though,’ he said.
Phyleus scowled. ‘I hope I have nothing from my father.’
Lyssa recognised the vitriol in his face, in his words, and she quirked an eyebrow. So Phyleus didn’t like his father either?
‘How does a prince end up as a slave on the Lady Lamia’s ship?’ asked Abderos.
‘It’s kind of a long story,’ said Phyleus.
Lyssa stood up. She was struggling to work out how she felt. A prince? There were lots of princes in Olympus, to be fair, but it was a big thing to hide. Phyleus looked at her, no playfulness in his gaze.
‘Captain, you must see why I didn’t tell you. You gave me a hard enough time when you thought I was nobility. Would you have let me stay if I told you I was royalty?’
She knew immediately that the answer was no. She felt Epizon’s eyes on her and she looked at the ceiling.
‘No. No, I wouldn’t have.’ She found Phyleus’s eyes. The fluttering in her belly was still there. ‘Did you run away?’
He shook his head. ‘I left with my family’s blessing.’
‘So you have no problem returning tomorrow?’
He scowled. ‘No problem, no, but I had hoped not to return so soon after leaving.’ His warm brown eyes were looking deep into hers, searching, and it was clear to her how much he wanted her approval. How much he wanted her to say that it was OK, that the tentative truce they were developing was still intact. Who was she to judge a person by their parents, their family or their upbringing? It made no difference where he came from. The man who had proved himself to her over the last four Trials was the one standing before her.
‘Excellent. Maybe this will give us the edge we need to win this next Trial. Thank you for telling us, Phyleus,’ she said. His face relaxed and Epizon stood up from the table.
‘Drink, anybody?’ he said and opened one of the wall cupboards.
‘Does this mean we have to call you Your Highness?’ said Abderos with a grin. Phyleus raised his eyebrows and put a thoughtful finger to his mouth.
‘Now there’s a thought…’ he said.
‘Don’t even think about it. On the Alastor, you’re still a deckhand,’ Lyssa said as she took the glass of clear ouzo that Epizon offered her. Her first mate gave her a warm smile and his meaning was clear. Epizon approved of her reaction. She’d done the right thing. But the word prince kept churning around in her head.
7
Evadne was sitting on the wooden planks of the quarterdeck, her legs folded beneath her, staring into the gently flickering fire of the flame dish. She’d rather have been alone in her room, reading, but Hercules wanted her waiting for the next Trial announcement.
A book lay unopened by her side, all about the construction of Taurus’s famous tree-houses but Evadne was too lost in thought to read. She’d known who Hercules was when she joined the crew of the Hybris. She’d thought that she would be able to keep him on her side, to use her charm to ensure she got what she wanted. It had been foolish of her to never properly consider what Hercules had the potential to do. What would he could do to her.
The fire crackled loudly, pulling her from her reverie.
‘Captain, the flame dish,’ she projected mentally to Hercules. The flames in front of her turned white and leaped high in the dish, a foot tall, before an image appeared. It was the blond Trial-an
nouncer, his now familiar face beaming, his perky voice triggering both irritation and apprehension.
‘Good day, Olympus! So our heroes have almost reached Taurus but they’ve yet to find out what awaits them when they get there.’ He gave an exaggerated wink and Evadne pulled a face. She heard boots on the deck behind her and glanced at Hercules as he came to a stop by her side, Asterion just behind him. ‘Dionysus will meet the heroes and one member of their crew at the Palace of Elis, where they will find out what they need to do to win the fifth Trial and take the lead. Good luck, heroes!’ The image faded from the flames as they shrank down to their normal size and flickered orange again. Hercules snorted.
‘That tells us nothing we didn’t already know,’ he huffed.
Evadne said nothing. Elis was the largest kingdom in Taurus. She’d visited once before, with her family. She’d seen the palace from the outside and had longed to see what it was like on the inside but her parents, wealthy as they were, hadn’t warranted an invitation from royalty. The spark of adventure kindled in her gut.
‘Who will you be taking with you, Captain?’ Evadne asked tentatively.
Hercules considered her a moment. ‘Do you wish for a chance to redeem yourself?’ he said eventually.
She looked meekly at the floor. ‘I do, Captain.’
‘Good. Then you shall have it.’
Evadne’s eyes sparkled as the Hybris sailed to a stop by a long wooden branch of the enormous tree that housed the Palace of Elis. They’d flown over dense forest, streams sparkling through the lush greenery, until they had reached a copse of the largest trees she had ever seen. There were nine of them in total and this one, in the centre, was at least a hundred feet taller than its neighbours. Wooden structures filled the gaps between branches as wide as the Hybris, brightly painted and covered in tiny glowing lights. The network of homes was connected by rope ladders and wooden bridges covered in hanging lanterns. She squinted at the buildings as they passed, trying to find evidence of how they had been built, but she couldn’t see a single join. It was as though they had been carved from the trees themselves.